Reputational Risk

I bet you saw the cell phone video of Chicago airport security dragging Dr. David Dao off his flight to Kentucky back in April of 2017. It was a stunning act and because of technology today the video was quickly shared throughout social media platforms and on the 24/7 news stream. United Airlines stock prices dropped, their CEO had to issue an apology, and ultimately United Airlines had to change their overbooking policy to help regain confidence with their customers.

More recently the sexual misconduct allegations against film executive Harvey Weinstein have not only ended his career, but also exploded into a proposed class action lawsuit against Weinstein, Miramax and former board members of Weinstein Co.

These are just two examples of why Reputational Risk and Crisis Management are such important topics. Any organization, large or small, private or public, for profit or not-for-profit, should have a crisis management plan to protect their organization’s reputation, valuation, executive leadership and tenure.

We live and work in an era of unprecedented political, social and media volatility. Whether it be the 24/7 news cycle, someone posting an article on Facebook or a petition sent via email about a certain cause, we are inundated with information and breaking news. Social media in many cases has become “weaponized” and is seen as a tool for consumers who feel wronged to voice their concerns publicly.

And remember, when it comes to reputational risk – allegations of wrongdoing by the company, or a board member or even an employee doesn’t even have to be true. True or not, once it’s out there as an allegation, your company’s reputation is at risk and the negative impacts against that reputation can have rippling long-lasting financial effects.

As Risk Advisors working with middle market clients, part of our responsibility is to assist with developing strategic Reputational Risk and Crisis Management plans; something many small- and mid-sized businesses have not always felt was necessary. We ensure they have a Pre-Crisis Plan to help mitigate reputational impacts from occurring in the first place and a Post-Crisis Plan to help them recover from such an impact.

Pre-Crisis Planning includes:

Understand vulnerabilities

Assess risks and damage

Review corporate reputation and its value to the organization

Build and maintain a good reputation

Strengthen crisis preparedness

Monitor social media regularly

Identify all constituencies to be communicated with and how

Have a detailed plan in place to respond to events that could impact your organization

Have Risk Manager/team with specific responsibilities to respond quickly

Post – Crisis Planning Includes:

Resolve the Crisis

Demonstrate ownership

Communicate decisively, honestly and promptly

Implement a solution

Regain the Public’s Trust

Review processes, governance

Embed sustainable solutions

Revitalize stakeholder engagement

Now you may be thinking, well I’m too small an organization for Reputational Risk to affect me...

So I’ll challenge you…

What would losing 10 customers mean to your bottom line?

What about losing a large donor for your nonprofit?

What would the cost be to rebuild consumer confidence in your product again?